In Osage County, the land may last forever. But love does not.
Life on the Double H Ranch was perfect until tragedy struck. Broken by her momma’s death and her daddy’s withdrawal, teenage Hannah Harris flees all she loves—her roots, her hometown, her conscience, and her cowboy.
Eight years later, she returns to attend her father’s funeral, gather her things, and get out of town. But there’s a snag—the high school sweetheart she abandoned appears too comfortable with her best friend. And Hannah now owns the ranch.
Since graduation night, Aaron Dean has waited for the girl who left her brand on his heart and his ring in his pocket. The ring’s the same, his heart’s the same, but is the woman who returns his same Hannah? What will it take to make her lost soul touch the earth again?
The longer Hannah stays at the Double H Ranch, the more memories root her to the earth, to generations past, and to dreams forsaken. And the more she believes love can last… forever.
In Osage County, the land may last forever. But love does not.
Life on the Double H Ranch was perfect until tragedy struck. Broken by her momma’s death and her daddy’s withdrawal, teenage Hannah Harris flees all she loves—her roots, her hometown, her conscience, and her cowboy.
Eight years later, she returns to attend her father’s funeral, gather her things, and get out of town. But there’s a snag—the high school sweetheart she abandoned appears too comfortable with her best friend. And Hannah now owns the ranch.
Since graduation night, Aaron Dean has waited for the girl who left her brand on his heart and his ring in his pocket. The ring’s the same, his heart’s the same, but is the woman who returns his same Hannah? What will it take to make her lost soul touch the earth again?
The longer Hannah stays at the Double H Ranch, the more memories root her to the earth, to generations past, and to dreams forsaken. And the more she believes love can last… forever.
For Hannah Harris, coming home was not like coming home at all. There was no fanfare. No hugs and kisses. No trading stories of all that happened while she’d been gone. Only a crowd full of mourners for a man she merely thought she knew. And a multitude of people she’d left behind. There were a lot of tears today but none in her eyes. She’d cried all her tears years ago, and the deep wells had run dry.
She smoothed her long black skirt under her and took a seat on a chair covered with a green blanketlike material. Aunt Janey sat beside her, dabbing a tissue at her eyes and pulling another from the packet in her lap. When she offered the packet, Hannah waved it away.
Uncle Charlie, seated on her aunt’s other side, wrapped an arm around Aunt Janey’s shoulders and angled her to weep against his chest. When Momma passed away and Hannah became invisible to Daddy, Aunt Janey held her like that and assured her everything was going to be okay.
But nothing had been okay. And eight years later, it still wasn’t.
An older man started singing “Amazing Grace,” and the crowd silenced except for a chorus of annoying sniffles and Janey’s soft weeping. Janey’d lost her brother and business partner in one day. But with her and Charlie running the ranch, it’d be in good hands.
After the hymn, Pastor Benson, the man who’d been Hannah’s preacher until she left home, stepped up alongside the barnwood casket, a worn black Bible in hand. “All right, everyone. Gather around, and we’ll try to get this done before that pretty April sky opens and drenches us all.”
Yes. Let’s. The sooner she could get out of there the better.
Everyone pressed in, and Hannah squeezed her elbows closer to her sides. The pressure of everyone’s thoughts disturbed her comfort zone. They were all looking at her. And she didn’t need to be a psychic to read their thoughts. Pity. Curiosity. Questions.
Judgment.
The wayward daughter coming home to the funeral of a father who didn’t love her anymore.
The green turf carpet beneath her boots was more of a welcome sight than the glares of the people she’d left behind. And if the preacher would hurry, she’d work on getting out of their line of sight for good.
But their thoughts weren’t the ones she feared. Only one person’s thoughts made her cringe.
As Pastor droned on, she kept her gaze on her folded hands. She didn’t need to laugh with these people or share in their stories. She needed to leave them far behind. Not because she hated them. God knew that wasn’t true. But their connection had broken, and nothing remained to hold them together.
“Amen.”
Hannah jolted. She hadn’t realized they were praying. Maybe no one noticed she hadn’t joined them. Thunder rolled, and in the collective pause, everyone looked to the sky.
Those seated stood as one, and people came from all directions to offer handshakes and hugs. Uncle Charlie stayed at her aunt’s side, but her cousins, Ryder, Lane, and Trace exited the tent. Hannah pasted on a smile and shook hands, breathing back the pounding of her heart and focusing on the people in front of her. If her attention strayed, she might meet the eyes of the man she hoped to see but not to be seen by. His family’s ranch shared miles of fence with hers. He was there. Had to be.
And she needed not to be.
Just in case he was the next handshake.
He wasn’t. But someone almost as scary was. Nothing made her feel more guilty than meeting Aaron’s eyes in his father’s face.
Mr. Dean held his Silverbelly hat to his chest, his other hand planted in the pocket of his khakis, Mrs. Dean standing beside him. The man always looked stern, so he was hard to gauge. But she’d broken their son’s heart. There was bound to be some ill feelings.
And they’d be right to have them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dean.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Dean? You know better than that.” Mrs. Dean grabbed her up in a hug. “We’ve been on a first-name basis since you were in diapers. I’m so sorry for your loss, sweetheart. Your daddy was an awfully good man.”
“He was a good friend.” Mr. Dean nodded, his lips pursed.
What were they saying? And nicely. “Thank you. I appreciate you coming today.”
Mrs. Dean stepped out of their embrace and adjusted her purse strap. “Don’t be such a stranger. You’re missed around here.”
Mr. Dean winked as he and his wife moved outside the tent and joined a group who were all smiles and laughter.
Hannah exhaled her relief. Not so bad. She might make it out of this day alive.
“Hannah?”
She jerked around at the familiar voice.
“Hey, girl. Do you remember me?” The girl’s hopeful smile flooded Hannah’s heart. The tears on the edge of her eyes broke it.
“Mattie.” Her whispery voice and a strange longing surprised her.
But not as much as her best friend embracing her. Wasn’t she mad Hannah skipped town without even a see you later? A desire to hug her back had seconds to culminate before Mattie stepped away. It was the first emotion through Hannah’s heart since Aunt Janey called with the news. And a wee bit unsettling.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I mean, I can believe you’d come to your dad’s… Well, it’s really good to see you. I’m sorry about your dad.”
Hannah recovered. “Thank you.”
“How long you in town for?”
“A few days. I’m staying with Aunt Janey.”
“Not your house?”
“It’s not my house anymore.” Saying the words solidified the situation and hardened the rock core of her insides. The Double H Ranch hadn’t been her home in a long time. Now, it never would be.
“Oh. Well, come see me before you leave. It would be fun to catch up. I’m always at the restaurant. The pizza place on the west side of Kihekah Avenue.” Mattie kept wringing her hands. Why was she nervous?
No ring. “You aren’t married?” What? Why blurt that out?
“Uh—no.” Her smile faltered.
“Neither am I.”
Mattie’s mouth regained its smile. “Good. No one to make mad if we stay up talking long into the night.”
Stay up talking? Did she not know it’d been eight years? “I’ll come see you before I leave.”
Mattie smiled wide, bent to take a small sunflower from one of the many floral arrangements lining the casket, and backed away. She walked between the gravestones to a narrow gravel road that transected the cemetery, looking back as she left. Catch up? When Hannah met with Mattie, would she get an earful or her best friend back? Both?
The one she deserved. The other, not so much.
A handsome man in jeans, a blazer, and a new cowboy hat met Mattie at the road. When Hannah focused on him, her breath caught, and her heart jolted.
He hadn’t changed much. If anything, the years had treated him well. Still tall. Still lanky. Still took her breath away. Still made her belly sour when she thought of how she’d left him.
And he didn’t so much as look her way. She wouldn’t get the same warm reception from him. Deservedly so.
“Well, little Hannah Harris.”
Oh, great. She pivoted around, holding out her hand. “Pastor Benson. Thank you so much for a lovely service.” A little longer, and she’d have a hot bath and time to process. “And Mrs. Benson.”
“What’s this?” The woman glared at her outstretched hand, then took it, and pulled her into a hug. When she released her, her hands didn’t leave Hannah’s shoulders. “You’ve only grown more beautiful.”
The couple had been old when she attended church with her parents. Now, his hair was thinner and grayer, and hers was cropped short and dyed a yellowy blond. But they still had the kind faces she remembered as a girl first forming her faith.
The faith she’d also left behind.
Pastor Benson gripped her shoulder as Mrs. Benson excused herself. “I’m sorry we’re meeting again under such circumstances. Hank was a good man. His death was unexpected. So young. He’s going to be missed around here.”
“Right. I mean, yes of course. He was.” Had been.
“It’s good to see you. I hope you’ve found a good congregation to be your family. Wherever it is you are these days.”
“Oh.” She waved a hand. “Sure thing.”
He smiled and nodded, but his preacher eyes said he knew. He crossed his arms over his protruding belly, his Bible tucked in. “How long you in town for?”
“I have to get back to work, so just a few days.”
“Wonderful. May I expect you in church tomorrow morning, then?”
Well played. He hadn’t changed his passive-aggressive preacher ways. “Yes. Absolutely.” And she was falling for it.
What was she doing? Getting together with her ex-best friend and agreeing to go to church? What would be next? Maybe she’d skip town tonight before she found out.
And leave Aunt Janey to clean her things out of Daddy’s house? Hannah cringed at her skipping-town habits. She’d hurt people, but it couldn’t have been avoided. She’d stay the few days to be there for Aunt Janey, the only person she’d kept in contact with. If a handful of short phone calls counted as keeping in contact. She’d attend church. Sit in the back for a quicker escape. “It’s good to see you, Pastor Benson.”
“It’s good to see you too, dear.”
All these people saying nice things about Daddy grated. He’d been her daddy up until Momma’s death. Then he was more like living with a ghost. Where was Aunt Janey? It was so time to go.
“And, Hannah?” A serious expression replaced Pastor Benson’s smile. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
She’d known where to find everyone and hadn’t sought them out. That wasn’t about to change now.
Except for Mattie. Maybe she owed her that visit.
“Thank you, Pastor Benson.”
He winked and moved on, leaving her alone under the funeral tent. Next to the casket complete with horseshoe trim, perched above the gaping hole that would encase the man who used to love her. Before Momma died and took all the love in the house with her.
But one other man had loved her.
She peered out of the corner of her eye where Mattie still stood with Aaron Dean, Hannah’s high school sweetheart. The only one she’d ever had eyes for. The only one her heart desired. Even after all this time.
She’d known them both since pre-K. And ripped both their hearts out on the same day.
Aaron’s brother, Eli, joined them. He’d been sixteen when she left, but it was undeniably him. He held a little girl who couldn’t be more than two. Her frilly pink dress with even pinker cowgirl boots urged Hannah’s lips to twitch into a smile.
The girl stretched her arms toward Aaron and fell into his embrace when he took her, laying her sweet head on his shoulder. He kissed her dark curls and rubbed her back. He had a kid? Mattie touched his arm with a familiarity that stole Hannah’s breath. She looked to be giving him what for. Were they together? Mattie said she wasn’t married. Dating?
Was this why Mattie wanted to talk? Being replaced wasn’t a surprise. Hannah wasn’t anything special. But her best friend? Was the child theirs?
She couldn’t deny the stabbing pain in her heart. But she couldn’t deny that she deserved it either.
Oh. Too many emotions cycloned in her gut for one day. She turned her attention back to the casket and touched the rough wood. She needed to leave.
Goodbyes were said years ago. Not face-to-face. That opportunity was gone. But shouldn’t she say something?
“Bye, Daddy.” She exited the tent before further unwelcome emotions joined her twisted innards.
She rounded the tent pole, and the gravestone he’d share with Momma met her, their names engraved side by side. The stone was cold under her hand in the absence of the sun. How had the world become such a lonely place?
Nothing could remedy that now, except getting back to the life she’d built in Oklahoma City.
“It’s been hell, Momma,” she whispered. “Pure hell.” She glanced at Daddy’s side, and her heart mimicked the cold hard stone. “Maybe Daddy can tell you all about it.”
She straightened and surveyed the gray clouds over Pawhuska City Cemetery. By some miracle, the sky had held back its promise of rain. Still, the humid smell of it hung heavy in the air. A cool spring breeze blew her hair from her shoulder. With her eyes closed, she breathed it in deep. Nowhere was the air as clean. Nowhere else could calm her like Osage County. But would the memories ever not cause pain?
A lone raindrop splattered onto the polished stone.
She cringed at a throat clearing. Then the voice spoke her name and very near stopped her heart. She swallowed the instant lump and forced her boots to carry her around to face him. By no surprise, he bore the expression of a man who couldn’t decide whether to be happy or angry.
Words tossed around in her brain, but none came to her lips. Her lungs worked hard to keep her breaths steady.
He held his hat against his abs, and if she had to guess, his other thumb would be lodged behind his buckle. His eyes expressed something akin to hope. “I just wanted to tell you… I’m sorry about your dad.”
“I… lost him a long time ago.”
“Well, regardless of what you think, he was a good man. He missed you.”
An unexpected blaze kindled in the deep place she kept hidden. “And you’re still standing up for him.”
His gaze fastened on her, and the Aaron she once knew stared back. “I’m not standing behind what he did, Hannah. He was hurting—”
“I was hurting. Was anyone worried about me?”
“I was worried about you. I was there for you every day.”
She blinked away to escape his desperate glare. “We were just kids. It wouldn’t have lasted. You wouldn’t have wanted me for long.”
“I was ready to give you forever.”
“Nothing lasts forever, Aaron.”
She clamped her jaw shut as their gazes locked. While she stared into that universe of blue with its swirling hues of pain and witnessed the loss of the last bit of hope they held, the terrible longing for home and love grew in that deep place. And her love for Aaron broke through the gate she’d shut and locked. But it didn’t matter anymore.
A few raindrops spotted her shirt. “I have to go.”
He looked as though he had something else to say. Instead, he placed his hat on his head and spun away.
“Aaron?”
His boots shuffled to a stop next to another grave marker, and his back became rigid. He turned sideways but didn’t look at her.
So many things she wanted to say prodded her tongue. But it was too late. So she said the polite words people say at funerals. “Thank you for coming today. Daddy always liked you.”
He set his gaze on the overcast sky, sprinkles of rain like tears around him. Then he tipped his hat and strode away, taking her heart with him.
He crossed the gravel road and met Mattie a few grave rows back at a short cross-shaped gravestone.
Hannah’s attention jerked to Aunt Janey when she touched her arm. Memories of nights on the knoll blinked away but not without leaving a dab of moisture inside the rim of her eyes.
“I hope that was a nice conversation.”
Mattie held the sunflower to her chest and swiped a tear from her eye. Who had she lost? Aaron slid an arm around her shoulders. Mattie leaned into him, laying her head on his chest. Maybe Hannah should ask Aunt Janey what was up between her ex-best friend and her ex-boyfriend. Too many exes. Maybe don’t disturb the dirt. “It was a conversation.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“Do you mind if I take a second?”
“Well, don’t take too long. Some real rain is coming.” Aunt Janey sniffled and took Uncle Charlie’s arm, allowing him to guide her toward the truck. Up ahead, Hannah’s three cousins loaded into a single-cab pickup and drove off.
Alone at the grave, she faced her parents’ gravestone. Yeah. The rain was coming. But for her, it’d been falling for nearly a decade. Bigger drops fell, churning the freshly turned dirt piled beyond the gravestone.
Daddy’s words of wisdom from her preteen days when Grandpa Harris died resurfaced. “They say to touch the earth is to touch the soul of everyone who came before you.”
That was ridiculous, of course. Dirt’s just dirt. It covered the dead. It was to be trodden on, smashed down, and ground to dust.
Just like a girl’s heart.
Only a fool would believe touching dirt could be some spiritual experience, reconnecting a person to the past. Life didn’t work that way.
Not then, not today.
Not forever.
When Hannah’s mother dies suddenly, she feels like her father has abandoned her. Completely consumed in his grief, he has withdrawn, leaving Hannah feeling as though she lost both parents simultaneously. As much as she loves her boyfriend, Aaron, she feels like she needs to escape her hometown. After secretly applying to college, she leaves town on her high school graduation night without telling a soul. Eight years later, her father has died and Hannah is back for the funeral. Learning that her father bequeathed her his ranch, she is forced to decide if she will sell it or if there’s a chance for her to reclaim the life she threw away.
Told in dual points of view, To Touch the Earth by Kristy Werner is a sweet second-chance romance set in a small town. Hannah never dealt with her grief in the years she was gone, so she is forced to confront it upon her return as well as face all the people she ghosted. Her best friend, having experienced tragedy herself, is warm and welcoming, but her ex-boyfriend still harbors a lot of resentment. Hannah must make amends, forgive, transform, and grow before she can move forward, making her a very captivating character.
Those who enjoy small-town cowboy romances without any explicit sexual content will enjoy this heartwarming book of growth and personal transformation. There are light Christian themes, but the main character has abandoned her faith along with her past, so the religious content is minimal and the book could be enjoyed by anyone regardless of religion. Both Hannah and Aaron need to overcome their abandonment issues, leading to emotional scenes. Given the trauma each of them has experienced, I would have liked to see more depth in their emotions, but overall, I enjoyed the story and would continue reading the series.